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The Transformative Business Model
- Stelios Kavadias,
- Kostas Ladas,
- Christoph Loch
A business model that can link a new technology to an emerging market need is the key to industry transformation. When Apple coupled the iPod with iTunes, it revolutionized the audio devices market. But most attempts to introduce a new model fail. The authors did an in-depth analysis of 40 companies that had launched new business models in a variety of industries, and here they present the key takeaways from their research.
They looked for recurring features in the models and found six: personalization, a closed-loop process, asset sharing, usage-based pricing, a collaborative ecosystem, and an agile and adaptive organization. No model displayed all of them, but having a higher number of features usually correlated with a greater chance of success at transformation. (The taxi service Uber can claim five of the six.)
Companies that are thinking about changing their business model or entering an industry with a new model can rate themselves on the six features to assess the likelihood that they’ll be transformative.
How to tell if you have one
Idea in Brief
The question.
No new technology can transform an industry unless a business model can link it to an emerging market need. How can you tell whether a model will succeed in doing that?
The Research
The authors undertook an in-depth analysis of 40 companies that launched new business models in a variety of industries. Some had transformed their industries; others looked promising but ultimately didn’t succeed.
The Findings
Transformative business models tend to include three or more of these features: (1) personalization, (2) a closed-loop process, (3) asset sharing, (4) usage-based pricing, (5) a collaborative ecosystem, and (6) an agile and adaptive organization.
We usually associate an industry’s transformation with the adoption of a new technology. But although new technologies are often major factors, they have never transformed an industry on their own. What does achieve such a transformation is a business model that can link a new technology to an emerging market need.
MP3 technology is a classic case in point. Early MP3 devices represented an order-of-magnitude increase in capacity over magnetic tapes and CDs: Users could carry thousands of songs on a small device. But MP3 players revolutionized the audio devices market only after Apple coupled the iPod with iTunes in a new business model, swiftly moving music-recording sales from the physical to the virtual world.
What, exactly, enables a business model to deliver on a technology’s potential? To answer that question, we embarked on an in-depth analysis of 40 companies that had launched new business models in a variety of industries. Some succeeded in radically altering their industries; others looked promising but ultimately did not succeed. In this article we present the key takeaways from our research and suggest how they can help innovators transform industries.
How Business Models Work
Definitions of “business model” vary, but most people would agree that it describes how a company creates and captures value. The features of the model define the customer value proposition and the pricing mechanism, indicate how the company will organize itself and whom it will partner with to produce value, and specify how it will structure its supply chain. Basically, a business model is a system whose various features interact, often in complex ways, to determine the company’s success.
In any given industry, a dominant business model tends to emerge over time. In the absence of market distortions, the model will reflect the most efficient way to allocate and organize resources. Most attempts to introduce a new model fail—but occasionally one succeeds in overturning the dominant model, usually by leveraging a new technology. If new entrants use the model to displace incumbents, or if competitors adopt it, then the industry has been transformed.
Consider Airbnb, which upended the hotel industry. Founded in 2008, the company has experienced phenomenal growth: It now has more rooms than either InterContinental Hotels or Hilton Worldwide. As of this writing, Airbnb represents 19.5% of the hotel room supply in New York and operates in 192 countries, in which it accounts for 5.4% of room supply (up from 3.6% in 2015).
The founders of Airbnb realized that platform technology made it feasible to craft an entirely new business model that would challenge the traditional economics of the hotel business. Unlike conventional hotel chains, Airbnb does not own or manage property—it allows users to rent any livable space (from a sofa to a mansion) through an online platform that matches individuals looking for accommodations with home owners willing to share a room or a house. Airbnb manages the platform and takes a percentage of the rent.
Because its income does not depend on owning or managing physical assets, Airbnb needs no large investments to scale up and thus can charge lower prices (usually 30% lower than hotels charge). Moreover, since the home owners are responsible for managing and maintaining the property and any services they may offer, Airbnb’s risks (not to mention operational costs) are much lower than those of traditional hotels. On the customer side, Airbnb’s model redefines the value proposition by offering a more personal service—and a cheaper one.
Before platform technology existed, there was no reason to change the hotel business in any meaningful way. But after its introduction, the dominant business model became vulnerable to attack from anyone who could leverage that technology to create a more compelling value proposition for customers. The new business model serves as the interface between what technology enables and what the marketplace wants.
Let’s look now at what features make a business model transformative.
The Six Keys to Success
We selected the 40 new business models we analyzed on the basis of how many mentions they received in the high-quality, high-circulation business press. All of them seemed to have the potential to transform their industries, but only a subset had succeeded in doing so. We looked for recurring features in the models and found six. No company displayed all of them, but as we shall see, a higher number of these features usually correlated with a higher chance of success at transformation.
1. A more personalized product or service.
Many new models offer products or services that are better tailored than the dominant models to customers’ individual and immediate needs. Companies often leverage technology to achieve this at competitive prices.
2. A closed-loop process.
Many models replace a linear consumption process (in which products are made, used, and then disposed of) with a closed loop, in which used products are recycled. This shift reduces overall resource costs.
3. Asset sharing.
Some innovations succeed because they enable the sharing of costly assets—Airbnb allows home owners to share them with travelers, and Uber shares assets with car owners. Sometimes assets may be shared across a supply chain. The sharing typically happens by means of two-sided online marketplaces that unlock value for both sides: I get money from renting my spare room, and you get a cheaper and perhaps nicer place to stay. Sharing also reduces entry barriers to many industries, because an entrant need not own the assets in question; it can merely act as an intermediary.
4. Usage-based pricing.
Some models charge customers when they use the product or service, rather than requiring them to buy something outright. The customers benefit because they incur costs only as offerings generate value; the company benefits because the number of customers is likely to grow.
5. A more collaborative ecosystem.
Some innovations are successful because a new technology improves collaboration with supply chain partners and helps allocate business risks more appropriately, making cost reductions possible.
6. An agile and adaptive organization.
Innovators sometimes use technology to move away from traditional hierarchical models of decision making in order to make decisions that better reflect market needs and allow real-time adaptation to changes in those needs. The result is often greater value for the customer at less cost to the company.
Each feature on this list is tied to long-term trends in both technology and demand. On the tech side, one trend is the development of sensors that allow cheaper and broader data capture. Another is that big data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning are enabling companies to turn enormous amounts of unstructured data into rules and decisions. A third is that connected devices (the internet of things) and cloud technology are permitting decentralized and widespread data manipulation and analysis. And a fourth is that developments in manufacturing (think nanotechnology and 3-D printing) are creating more possibilities for distributed and small-scale production.
On the market side, although the steady progress of developing countries has led to a stable increase in demand worldwide, it is complicated by a greater diversity in customer preferences (both across and within countries). Higher factor prices (despite the commodity price reductions of 2015) and heightened regulation (notably on environmental effects and business conduct) further increase the challenges for companies looking to gain market share.
All six features represent potential solutions for linking market demand and technological capability. For example, greater personalization in the value proposition responds to the fragmentation of consumer preferences and the resultant demand for more-diverse offerings. That personalization has been made possible by sensors that collect data from connected devices via the cloud; the data is analyzed by big data solutions and turned into services—such as recommendations and alerts—that are different for each user.
From Innovation to Transformation
In theory, the more of the six features a new business model has, the greater its potential to transform a given industry should be. We tested that hypothesis by analyzing how many features each of the 40 new models displayed and comparing the results with its actual performance.
How Many Boxes Should a Model Tick?
We gave each model one point for each feature on which it outperformed the incumbent business model. We then assessed its transformative success according to the degree to which the model had attracted market share (displacing incumbents) and the extent to which other companies had copied it. Our results strongly suggest (that’s the best one can get from statistical analyses) that business models with transformative potential tend to have three or more of the six features.
The taxi service company Uber ticks no fewer than five boxes. Its business model is built on asset sharing —the drivers use their own cars. Uber has developed a collaborative ecosystem in which the driver assumes the risk of winning rides, while the platform helps minimize that risk through the application of big data. The platform also creates agility through an internal decision-making system that responds to market changes in real time. This lets Uber apply usage-based pricing and direct drivers to locations where the probability of finding a fare is high.
Finally, Uber uses a scheme whereby customers rate drivers. Via the big data platform, a would-be customer can see on his or her mobile device the closest drivers and their ratings. The rating system pushes drivers to offer clean cars and quality service, and it also provides at least a bit of personalization . Allowing the customer to decide between the closest car and the one (maybe a bit farther out) with the highest rating may not sound like much, but it is still far ahead of traditional taxi services.
The implication of our finding is straightforward: If you are thinking about changing your business model or entering an industry with a new model, you can rate yourself on how well your model performs on the six features. If you don’t beat the competition on any of them, your chances of success are low. But if your model significantly outdoes the current model on three or more features, you are well positioned to succeed.
Uber has five key features of a potentially transformative business model.
To rate yourself on a feature, you must first define what it actually means in your industry. For example, in financial services personalization may mean tailored loan terms (including interest rates, monthly payments, and loan duration), whereas in retail it may mean customized T-shirt designs or one-off dresses. In education it may mean that the support provided to students changes according to their individual strengths and weaknesses, and in health care it may mean data-enabled, targeted medicine. Only when performance is expressed in such industry-specific ways can a company develop metrics to evaluate and compare its model on the key features and begin to think about how to differentiate itself by using new technologies.
Healx: A Case Study
Informed by our business model framework, we advised (and Cambridge Judge Business School’s business accelerator supported) the tech venture Healx, which focuses on the treatment of patients with rare diseases in the emerging field of personalized medicine. A big challenge for pharmaceutical companies in this domain is that rare-disease markets are very small, so companies usually have to charge astronomical prices. (One drug, Soliris, used in the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, costs about $500,000 per patient-year.) Some potential treatments are, however, being used for more-common diseases with large patient markets. They could be repurposed to suit the needs of rare-disease sufferers, but they typically work only for people with specific genetic profiles.
Enter Healx, with a platform that leverages big data technology and analytics across multiple databases owned by various organizations within global life sciences and health care to efficiently match treatments to rare-disease patients. Its initial business model hit three of our six key features. First, Healx’s value proposition was about asset sharing (for example, making available clinical-trial databases that record the effectiveness of most drugs across therapeutic areas and diseases, including rare ones). Second, the business promised more personalization by revealing drugs with high potential for treating the rare diseases covered. Finally, Healx’s model would, in theory, create a collaborative ecosystem by bringing together big pharma (which has the treatment and trial data) and health care providers (which have data about effectiveness and incompatibility reactions and also personal genome descriptions).
Healx’s latest business model brings personalization to the highest level.
How did we measure performance along those features? To assess personalization, we compared the amount of drug data currently provided to sufferers of rare diseases with the amount that Healx could provide, which initially covered 1,000 of the 7,000 rare diseases that have formal advocacy groups worldwide. These groups represent some 350 million people, 95% of whom currently get no even reasonably relevant drug recommendations. We measured asset sharing by looking at the proportion of known data on rare-disease-relevant drugs that Healx could access—about 20% in its start-up phase. Finally, we assessed its collaborative ecosystem by looking at how many of the main data-holding institutions participated—about a quarter.
At first Healx struggled to get pharma companies to join the platform; they were concerned that their treatment data would leak to competitors. But the Healx team spotted an opportunity to give companies an incentive. In 2014 the United Kingdom’s National Health Service introduced a new rule for pharmaceutical companies: If an expensive treatment doesn’t work for a patient, the company responsible can be forced to reimburse NHS providers for its cost. The reimbursement amounts were disease-specific and counted in the thousands of British pounds.
Treatment failure is often caused by specificities in individual genomes, and Healx’s managers realized that their technology could help companies predict such failures with high accuracy, potentially saving millions of pounds a year.
More recently, Healx has developed a machine-learning algorithm that can use a patient’s biological information not only to match drugs to disease symptoms but also to predict exactly which drug will achieve what level of effectiveness for that particular patient. The latest version of its business model brings personalization to the maximum possible level and adds agility, because the treating clinician—armed with the biological data and the algorithm—can make better treatment decisions directly with the patient and doesn’t have to rely on fixed rules of thumb about which of the few available off-label drugs to use. In this way, Healx is able to support decentralized, real-time, accurate decision making.
This version of the Healx model has even more transformation potential—it exhibits four of the six features; it has already generated revenue from customers; and in the long term it could empower patients by giving them much more information before they consult a medical practitioner. Although it is still too early to tell whether that potential will be realized, Healx is clearly a venture to watch. It has earned a number of prizes (including the 2015 Life Science Business of the Year and the 2016 Graduate Business of the Year in the Cambridge cluster) and sizable investments from several global funds.
You cannot guarantee the success of an innovation (unless you choose a market niche so small as to be insignificant). But you can load the dice by ensuring that your business model links market needs with emerging technologies. The more such links you can make, the more likely you are to transform your industry.
- Stelios Kavadias is the Margaret Thatcher Professor of Enterprise Studies in Innovation and Growth at the University of Cambridge’s Judge Business School and the director of its Entrepreneurship Centre.
- Kostas Ladas is an associate at the Entrepreneurship Centre at Cambridge Judge Business School.
- CL Christoph Loch is a professor at and the director (dean) of the University of Cambridge’s Judge Business School.
Partner Center
What Are Some Examples of Business Model Transformation?
Transformation is a phase that all long-lasting businesses will eventually have to go through, one way or another.
While navigating a very fast-paced world and dealing with the numerous market shifts, a business needs to keep its operations functional by always optimizing its internal processes.
This constant optimization will enable a company to remain relevant and profitable while also keeping up with its competitors.
However, transforming a company’s internal processes does not always lead to the expected results.
When a company’s business model is no longer functional and does not lead to success and profits, the company needs a business model transformation.
Table of Contents
What is business model transformation.
Business model transformation, or simply business transformation, relates to fundamental changes in the way organizations operate.
A business model refers to an organization’s strategic plan to make a profit from the delivery of value through goods or services.
A business model includes target audiences for which the products or services are appropriate, potential engagement strategies and practices, and anticipated expenses.
Of course, business models defer in each organization, making some companies more profitable than others.
Therefore, many other organizations tend to follow suit and transform their own business models into something similar to enjoy some of the success their competitors do.
There are also the companies that take the initiative to change their business model into something original that can then inspire the other businesses around them.
The reasons a business might decide to go through a business model transformation are various, including low profit and turnover, the introduction of new technologies, market disruptions, and much more.
Sometimes, a business model transformation is required due to a merger or acquisition. In this case, the company’s business model will have to be modified to align with that of the other companies.
The Types of Business Transformation
Organizational transformation.
Organizational transformation relates more to the infrastructure of a company and especially the way the company’s employees work.
Management Transformation
Management transformation refers to changes in the hierarchy of an organization.
This is when the company decides to restructure its management team(s) and redefine the idea of leadership in the company.
Cultural Transformation
Information systems transformation.
Information systems transformation is driven by the introduction of advanced digital technology in an organization’s internal business process to correct deficiencies, increase profit and support the company’s employees in simplifying specific tasks.
Business Process Transformation
Business model transformation vs digital transformation.
While both are very important steps for a company to follow through, business model transformation and digital transformation are two very different processes.
Digital transformation simplifies processes by bringing new technology to support the company’s operations.
With business model transformation, a company or business unit changes its focus. Digital transformation changes the way it works due to the influence of technology.
Examples of Business Model Transformation
Before PayPal became the online payment service it is today in our digital economy, it was actually in the cryptography business. At the time, it focused on providing security software for portable devices.
However, with its original professional services not meeting the public’s expectations and not gaining interest, the company started the process of transforming its business model to identify a new business model that would make it more profitable and enhance customer expectations.
Today, PayPal is an international financial technology company specializing in online payments, facilitating the safe exchange of funds online.
Thankfully, the company decided to reevaluate its business model and transform the business into an online streaming service provider.
Today, Netflix is one of the most successful entertainment companies, creating multitudes of content worldwide.
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Business Transformation
What is business transformation used for, examples of business transformation, what are some common challenges when undergoing business transformation, .css-1rpxuvi{position:absolute;left:0;top:-85px;} what is business transformation, definition of business transformation.
No business can stand the test of time without adapting to change, and business transformation is the act of rolling out strategic growth or change plans across an organization. These changes tend to be significant, not simple tweaks to process.
Business transformation may occur as a result of the external change — e.g. shifts in the marketplace — or internal change, e.g. suboptimal company culture.
As you can imagine, this process can take months, if not years, to complete. However, with today’s advanced rate of development, time is often of the essence in business transformation.
A business transformation should always be a step in the right direction for an organization. As such, this organizational change could be sought with the aim of capturing a new segment of the market, adding commercial value to the business, improving production efficiencies, or maximizing human capital.
In truth, product managers are often champions of internal change within their organization — even if they, or the rest of the company, don’t know it. Thanks to the unique position a product manager finds themselves in, they are well placed to not only spot opportunities to create value, but have the authority to suggest new and improved ways of working.
For product teams, a business transformation agenda could be pushed to better meet users’ needs or to monopolize on emerging technology.
Agile: Best Practices and Methodologies
There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to organizational change. How your business aims to transform itself will be entirely dependent on where you are right now, where you want to be and why.
That being said, there are a number of common business transformation types.
Organizational transformation
This type of business transformation focuses on a business’s most valuable asset: its people.
Organizational transformation is concerned with assessing how the company-wide team currents operate — what’s working, what isn’t working and opportunities for improvements. This could mean breaking down a hierarchical structure in favor of a flatter organization. It could mean upskilling staff, hiring new members, encouraging greater collaboration between teams or the dreaded ‘restructuring’.
Business process transformation
As the name suggests, this approach hones in on how the business runs day by day.
Whilst some business process transformations are entire overhauls of a company’s methods, processes, and working styles, this should also be an ongoing process. The worst thing leaders can do is to get stuck in the mindset that says: “But it’s always been done this way”. Business process transformation encourages the organization to closely assess where effort is being spent and what value is received in return.
Effort-heavy or repetitive tasks, or those that reap with little reward, should be redesigned or cut out entirely, if possible. As such, business process transformation may involve agile thinking.
Management transformation
Speaking of leaders, management transformation seeks to create a leadership structure that makes it easier for organizations to reach their potential.
For example, maybe it takes months for a decision to be agreed upon between stakeholders. Or, perhaps, there’s a great deal of bureaucracy and red tape for innovations to overcome. For a business to grow and adapt to necessary changes, its leadership needs to facilitate quick decision making.
Management transformation may empower team members to make decisions for themselves — without senior sign-off — or it may be used to invest in clearer communication channels, to speed the decision-making process up.
Information, data, or digital transformation
Technology has fundamentally changed the way that businesses operate, from digital communication or eCommerce to social media and CRM.
In this way, information, data, or digital transformations are intended to leverage what’s readily available to a business, to help it grow. A great example is the acceleration of customer data collection — these days, companies gather an overwhelming amount of data and what they choose to do with it can either improve their customer relationships or damage them beyond repair.
Cultural transformation
This final example of business transformation is arguably one of the hardest to get right.
Company culture is a living, breathing thing. It is reinforced by the decisions that leaders make in boardroom meetings, as well as how your customer service reps speak on the phone. As such, company culture is difficult to manage, but it is also absolutely vital for success.
A positive company culture empowers employees, drives productivity and attracts users to your brand. Negative company culture can, no exaggeration, be the death of your business .
What’s more: the company culture needs to evolve organically and over time. There is no overnight fix for toxic company culture. That’s why cultural transformation can be incredibly complex to roll out — it involves many moving pieces and relies on the right actions of all employees.
But cultural transformation is certainly not impossible, and many businesses — including Jaguar , for example — credit their commercial success to improvements in company culture.
First and foremost, any type of business transformation needs a clear plan and strategic vision. If you don’t know the ‘why’ behind the change you seek, you risk losing direction and momentum.
Equally, for a business transformation to succeed, it needs buy-in from all stakeholders. Sure, change typically starts from the top, but you won’t achieve company-wide transformation with the C-Suite alone. Engage each and every employee, share your plan and vision, and help them see the vital role they play in the transformation process.
Lastly, it can be comfortable and reassuring to stay within the status quo. You may even feel some resistance to business transformation plans. However, for your organization to be future-proof, it needs to be ready to change.
Product managers — as innovative thinkers and people managers — have a great deal of potential to encourage business transformation. In doing so, they’ll be helping maximize the value of their organization.
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Business Model Transformation
You have the vision for your business, but do you have the structure to bring it to life? Business Model Transformation helps drive the business and operating model changes required to achieve an organization’s strategic vision.
Deloitte's Business Model Transformation consultants are ready to help you capture new growth opportunities, reduce costs, improve efficiencies, and stay ahead of consumer preferences. Across a broad range of specialties — enterprise model design, global business services, outsourcing, cost transformation, real estate, and location strategy — we help organizations set and execute their strategic vision and dramatically improve business performance.
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- Description of Business Model Transformation services
2016 Global outsourcing survey
Over the last several years, Deloitte has conducted multiple studies that explore the evolution of outsourcing and assess emerging trends.
2015 Global Shared Services Survey
Since 1999, Deloitte has conducted a biennial survey on shared services organizations to explore the evolving concept and assess emerging trends. The 2015 survey garnered 311 respondents headquartered in 35 countries consisting of 1,000+ Shared Services Centers (SSCs).
Minimum viable transformation
Leaders are taking lessons from the startup playbook on “minimum viable products” to launch minimum viable transformations—lightweight and readily adaptable versions of potential new business models.
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8 Successful Digital Transformation Examples in Business
- Analysts expect investments in digital transformation to reach $2.3 trillion globally by 2023.
- The benefits of digital transformation include better supply chain management, improved ability to meet customer needs, secure data management, and stronger profitability.
- Digital transformation examples include mobile applications, constant connectivity, instant loan approvals, virtual try-ons, buy online and pick up in-store, and more.
Digital transformation means adopting a digital-first mindset to improve business processes, streamline operations, and drive greater customer and shareholder value. For many businesses, it can mean the difference between becoming the market leader or becoming obsolete. Just look at Blockbuster Video for a prime example of digital transformation failure.
And this isn’t a passing trend you can ignore. Analysts expect investments in digital transformation to reach $2.3 trillion globally by 2023, capturing the majority share of worldwide information and communications tech expenditures.
Analysts expect investments in digital transformation to reach $2.3 trillion globally by 2023
The benefits of these digital transformation initiatives? Better supply chain management, a greater ability to meet customer needs, more secure customer data management, and stronger profitability which leads to higher stock prices.
However, it’s an expensive and risky undertaking to reinvent the way an enterprise operates. So, before you commit to a plan, let’s look at some successful digital transformation examples across multiple industries to help you chart your course ahead.
8 Digital transformation examples
Some digital transformation examples include implementing tangible, customer-centric digital tools like mobile applications or websites that improve the customer journey. And others involve machine learning algorithms that transform a traditional business into a digital business.
Or digital transformation efforts can dismantle the silos between the digital world and the real world. As a result, business leaders can understand how customers interact with every marketing campaign they run — whether direct mail, in-store, TV, digital advertising, email, or social media.
Think about banks shifting from an in-person banking standard that’s held for generations to ATMs and then to mobile banking.
Or consider automated payroll software solutions that make automated payments into employees’ bank accounts and keep track of them for the purpose of filing taxes at the end of the year.
“ Digital transformation removes silos between the digital world and the real world, improving customer experiences, efficiency, and data. TERAKEET
In communications, faxing used to be the norm, but today, it’s virtually extinct. Faxing was first replaced by email and PDF files. We now have virtual documents with secure electronic signatures and document lifecycle management solutions.
Critics might consider many of these transformations to be a part of change management. However, they’re also vital parts of the new digital age. And they’re all excellent examples of innovative digital strategy.
Let’s take a deeper look at some of the best digital transformation strategies in the specific examples below. I’ll explain how companies across key industries achieved new growth through digital transformation by building new business models with big data and digital savvy.
And if you have time, I highly recommend you watch this video from Technology and Services World that offers some real-world examples of digital transformation.
Digital transformation examples in manufacturing
Many manufacturing companies undergoing a digital transformation are doing so for greater efficiency. They use predictive analytics to reduce supply chain costs and maintenance needs, as well as decrease energy and water consumption, etc.
As a B2B industry, the main attraction for their clients is the ability to reduce costs in all manners, and even to increase yield.
But there’s still room for additional innovation that sets some businesses apart.
Desktop Metal , for example, is altering the state of manufacturing with a novel digital technology for 3D printed metal. Automotive manufacturers are already heavily invested in this new technology. Beyond automotive solutions, there are also applications across the medical, dental, aerospace, and even luxury markets.
Examples of digital transformation in banking
The financial services revolution involves much more than the shift to mobile banking and cash apps. Consumers now use cash airdrops, cardless payments through services like Apple Pay on phones or watches, and completely bankless banking.
But that’s the bare minimum to keep up with the trending changes in banking. To earn loyalty and build a better customer experience, you should keep innovating.
Capital One revolutionized banking. After acquiring the digitally-focused ING Direct, Capital One launched an ambitious plan to morph itself into a digital innovation leader. Software was placed at the core of the company. Today, it’s a software powerhouse with a technology staff of roughly 11,000 and with more than 500 artificial intelligence (AI) patents .
Intergiro built an entirely new way to bank and conduct business, called embedded banking . It’s an automation of payroll systems, invoices, and reconciliation. It integrates with apps for checkouts, wallets, and holding your cards. Integiro’s perspective is that every company should be, and at some point will be, a financial technology company.
J.P. Morgan just entered the metaverse, opening the Onyx Lounge in Decentraland, a popular metaverse for the blockchain-based world. There, the company plans to operate like a bank in the virtual world much like it does in the physical world.
In the Onyx Lounge, customers can conduct virtual banking, such as getting a virtual mortgage for digital plots of land or buildings based on blockchain. Additionally, it sees itself facilitating cross-border payments, foreign exchange transactions, financial asset creation, and stock trading. In other words, J.P. Morgan is building the company’s virtual existence to mirror its real-world services.
Additional Resources
Digital transformation examples in retail.
Retail businesses are fighting to meet customer expectations due to the massive push towards ecommerce in the market. Even Walmart has undergone a transformation to keep up with Amazon and other grocery stores turning to things like online ordering and delivery services.
But Walmart has taken it farther than that to stay ahead. Their latest digital transformation success: voice ordering . Not only have they shifted to allow their customers to shop from the comfort of their homes or their jobs (or anywhere else), but they can now do so using voice command devices such as Google Home.
They’re also adding a visual delivery service, providing customers updates on their deliveries, and allowing visual connectivity so you can see them putting the order away in your kitchen.
Furthermore, the Walmart mobile app now offers visual search, allowing customers to type in the item they’re searching for and locate it on the store map. No more flagging down a store associate for help.
Examples of digital transformation in healthcare
Healthcare often lags in digitization on the patient side, but we’re starting to see digital innovation initiatives like e-portals for patients, real-time health monitoring, and virtual health visits. The innovation is improving the patient-institution relationship and leading to better health outcomes and engagement in healthcare decisions.
Where much of the healthcare industry suffers, especially certain niches such as senior living, is in managing prospective patients that come in and the proper documentation that goes along with it. Many digital marketing departments in senior care, for example, rely on referrals as many of their patients are coming from hospitals or other care facilities.
Atria Senior Living in Kentucky solved the prospect management issue by building a customer relationship management (CRM) system, complete with all the features they needed to track prospects on their website — how often they use the word “need” with chatbots; flagging actions for the sales team; and identifying how prospects interact with their various communities.
They also built an engagement app that allowed families to connect and communicate with their loved ones throughout the pandemic. On top of this, they launched a care management app for more efficient time management and treatment of their patients.
Digital transformation examples in marketing
Marketing technology, or martech, is a crowded business arena, with more than 8,000 product offerings . Between 2011 and 2020, product growth in the space reached 5,233% . Martech happens to permeate just about every other industry.
Now, it’s a landscape of platforms that includes digital asset management (DAM) and product information management (PIM), as well as marketing resource management (MRM) and content management systems (CMS). There’s marketing automation, personalization, and CRM solutions.
In terms of SEO, there are web crawlers and analytics tools, as well as rank trackers and AI-based optimization grading tools.
The martech space grew 5,233% from 2011 to 2020
The list of martech options goes on and on, and these software solutions are having a positive impact.
Take Terakeet, for example. We’ve grown significantly over the years with a business that is largely run online and through digital processes. The technologies we use to assess the competitive landscape were developed internally and are completely unique in the industry. Management of projects is digitally based. The tech platform we use to manage a database of more than 9 million publishers for strategic outreach is also something that we created when we recognized the need.
In many senses, Terakeet is just as much a digital technology company as it is an organic search company.
Digital transformation strategy examples in transportation
Tesla pushed many car manufacturers into a new type of competition. With the rise in concerns over global warming and the world’s overreliance on oil, the automotive sector has recently embraced a move towards electrification and autonomous driving.
Taking it a step further, technologies such as by Smart Eye deliver AI-based driver monitoring systems and automotive interior sensing solutions. These technologies make driving far safer by detecting when drivers are distracted, falling asleep, or otherwise putting themselves and their passengers in danger.
Other shifts in automotive digitization include autonomous fleet vehicles , the electrification of fleets, CO2-neutral trucks , and holographic overlays .
Clearly the automotive industry is reshaping itself to improve operations, performance, and customer experience.
But then there’s also the emergence of entire businesses built on digital transformation, like Carvana . They started with the ability to buy a car completely online, from start to finish, delivering the car to your home and giving you a trial period to test it out. But they still found ways to innovate further, with Carvana vending machines — essentially unmanned towers of cars where consumers can pick a car and drive away with it.
Another example is Hyundai , which recently acquired Boston Dynamics, a robotics company. The intention is to take their cars into the metaverse and become a trailblazer based on new, advanced robotics capabilities.
Examples of digital transformation in insurance
Insurance is an industry with a lot of tradition. However, we’re now starting to see innovation in the insurance market like never before. This includes significant technological changes related to the customer experience.
Online portals are driving most of the change, such as telematics driver behavior monitoring, the ease of document access, and the ease of filing a claim solely from your phone.
While a lot of the changes are incremental, maybe even standard, there are a few companies blazing a new path forward.
Root is entirely run through its app. You can get started within new insurance in minutes. Root uses your mobile phone to measure your driving behavior, with automatic savings applied to your account when the system detects you driving more safely.
Kroodle , a Dutch insurance company, interacts with its customers entirely through social media. Customers use a Facebook app to file claims, get quotes, and request services.
Farmers Insurance is now using drones to conduct risk and damage assessments, roof inspections, and more. Since the drones are connected to the company via cloud computing using the Internet of Things (IoT), they’re able to transmit data analytics instantaneously for much faster assessment results.
Examples of digital transformation in foodservice and supermarkets
Another push towards digital transformation may simply be to make things more convenient for your audience.
Take Dominos for instance. In 2011, Domino’s set out to make it easy for an individual with a smartphone to order a pizza within the 17 seconds it takes for a traffic light to turn green. From that moment, Dominos transformed from a pizza company into a tech titan.
They created an app for their customers to place orders and watch their order progress from placement to delivery. What’s more, they’ve invested in countless additional digital initiatives, including delivery by autonomous vehicles and electric bikes. The innovations resulted in digital sales now making up the majority of all global retail sales for the pizza chain.
This type of digitization of operations and customer engagement helps to separate Dominos from the competition. It also helps to delight customers at the same time.
Wegmans , the supermarket chain with more than $10.8 billion annual revenue, is a perfect example of digital transformation. Their customers can scan and bag their own groceries through their app while they shop. Then, customers pay at a kiosk on the way out to finish the purchase.
This reduces checkout time, and offers the brand deep insights into shopping behavior (like how long customers spend in the store, and which items they scan in which order, etc.
- What these examples have in common
The common denominator with all these transformations is the shift towards efficiency through increased digitization. This translates into convenience and cost savings for customers and companies alike.
The digital transformation examples above feature a consistent reduction of friction in operations, product development, training, customer engagement, marketing, sales, and support. This is generally accomplished by streamlining clunky, disjointed processes, eliminating waste, and making new connections fast.
Learn from these examples to transform your own business performance.
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6 inspiring business transformation examples to learn from – Digital Leadership
Published: 26 September, 2020
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Transformation
Table of Contents
Digital Leaders Take It All!
It’s an unfair world. Businesses that are already more digitally mature can use technology to innovate quickly and continue to further disrupt the market
Think about Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology or the Hand Wash Timer and Sleep Tracking feature on the new Apple Watch. These are groundbreaking innovations that help their parent companies maintain and enhance their digital leadership position. But not every company is a tech company like Amazon or Apple. The road to business transformation is less clear to traditional corporations that are less digitally mature.
Most of the time, inspiring business transformations are no coincidence but are the result of a structured approach. The UNITE Innovation Approach enables you to structure your innovation process, form valuable networks and make the most of your intellectual property.
Much more about business transformation examples and approaches to innovation you will find in our brand-new FREE book “HOW TO CREATE INNOVATION”. It includes comprehensive approaches with mindsets, structures, and strategies to innovate in less time, with fewer resources and more success. Register for the download now !
Why Conventional Businesses Must Innovate
The 20th century or even 19th-century organizations still drive the major share of the global economy even today . But the largest firms in terms of stock market valuations are almost all tech firms or firms that have reinvented themselves in the last years. When it comes to digital transformation, most of the established large enterprises are lagging behind startups. Why? It’s because startups have technology embedded in their DNA. They are nimble organizations that have the agility to unsettle conventional players. Therefore, it’s critical for big, traditional firms to innovate if they don’t want to lose market share to digital startups and eventually go extinct like dinosaurs.
Six Digital Transformation Case Studies: Takeaways from Digital Leaders
To understand better, we must look at some of the traditional organizations that have successfully transformed themselves into future digital leaders. These firms have integrated new technologies in their operations and have brought tremendous improvements to their customer experience, business model, and overall business operations. These are the companies that are getting the optimum benefits of digitalization, not just through performance improvement, but also in terms of real bottom-line results.
The examples we are going to cover in this article include:
Danish Oil / Ørsted
Asian paints, keller williams.
Running Out of Gas: Back in 2012, Danish Oil and Natural Gas was Denmark’s biggest enterprise. In the same year, natural gas prices plunged by approximately 90%, sliding Danish Oil into a financial crisis since the company’s energy mix relied mostly on fossil fuels. Moreover, S&P, following the company’s financial situation, downgraded its credit rating to negative.
Reinventing the Business: To recover from the crisis, the company’s board replaced its CEO and hired a former executive from LEGO, Henrik Poulsen. Henrik’s approach was radically different. Instead of following the classical methods of crisis management such as staff layoffs or cost reduction, he identified the space for changing the fundamentals of business. In other words, he took environmental disruption as an opportunity and decided to go for business model innovation.
Radical Innovation: Here is an overview of the key radical decisions he took as part of the transformation:
- The company was renamed Ørsted after the legendary Danish scientist Hans Christian Ørsted.
- Ørsted divested from the oil and gas business, which shifted the focus heavily on renewables.
- Moving away from coal and towards biomass, enabled the company to exit coal in 2023 and have carbon-neutral power generation by 2025.
- Went for an IPO in 2016, which helped in fueling the growth & flexibility.
- Diversified the technology mix by re-entering into the onshore-wind market, storage solution, and solar PV.
- The company also started to utilize advanced analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and the cloud to improve overall production efficiency.
The Results
Ørsted became one of the first companies to make a complete transition from black to green energy. The company has reduced its GHC emissions intensity by 67% and coal consumption by 82%. In 2018, Ørsted reported operating profits of DKK 30 billion, achieving an impressive year-on-year growth rate of more than 33%. Key Takeaway: It’s crucial for digital leaders to identify a higher purpose and mission that galvanize the whole organization and drives all function towards a common goal.
Inspiration from India
A Love Affair with IT
Information technology has been the pivot in the company’s growth. They began computerizing the operations in the 1970s. This was followed by the development and adoption of a series of innovative software applications for optimizing the customer experience and improving the supply chain.
A Problem to be Solved
Less than a decade ago, Asian Paints woke up to the fact that they had inadequate visibility into the complex and correlated factors that affected operations. It was too difficult and time-consuming to keep track of the intricate interdependencies that existed between people, machines, processes, and materials. There was a problem to be solved, a Job To Be Done (JBTD) Their answer: innovate!
Getting the Job Done
Continuous innovation has transformed Asian Paints into a regional and global digital leader. In 2019, Coating World ranked Asian Paints 9th among the top paint companies in the world. Forbes has included the company in its list of the World’s Best Regarded Companies and the Best Over A Billion Companies in the Asia Pacific. Takeaway: Business Model Innovation (BMI) is the key to unlocking the next stride of customer-centric innovation and technology-driven growth.
Codelco is the world’s largest Copper producer with annual revenue of US-$12.9 Billion . The company has been continuously innovating its business and processes for the most part of the last two decades.
What Drove Innovation at Codelco
In 2016, the mining industry faced the crisis of increasing copper prices. The demand in China and emerging markets like Brazil slowed down dramatically. Developed markets like Europe continued to underperform. And in the US the manufacturing activity was contracting significantly.
The industry outlook started to improve in 2017, but the margins were still not enough for a big company like Codelco to pursue any solid growth plans. Codelco had already been pursuing a digital transformation strategy for almost a decade when the crisis hit. The company viewed transformation as the only solution to the problem of low profitability and declining demand.
How Codelco Transformed
Codelco’s vision was to create a fully automated operations center and change the traditional paradigms of mining. Over the next couple of years, Codelco established a Remote Operations Center that provided constant operational support. Operators have a backup for both monitoring and automation and have real-time access to automation specialists. Through the use of integration, automation, and data analytics, the company rearranged the mining process and realized the benefits of remote operations and a connected enterprise.
The Benefits of Automation
Operators are alerted in real-time of potential problems and can modify the process to prevent the loss of operation loss and continuity. The operators no longer have to see the plant physically, but can see the operations through cameras and screens. They can take the same actions that they would take locally, but their actions are better coordinated because they’re all in the same room.
By using remote operations and fully automated plants, Codelco fine-tuned production, improved the availability of equipment and system, lowered costs, and significantly improved the productivity of its teams.
Can’t Stop Innovating!
Codelco’s CEO Nelson Pizarro continues to spearhead an aggressive transformation and growth plan. Over the next ten years, the company will automate the operations of its mining fleet. Some of the key changes they plan are to incorporate driverless trucks and transport in their operations, shift from labor-intensive to on-site machinery, establish remote operation rooms, and redefine the entire operational approach.
Codelco’s digital transformation initiatives have delivered an unprecedented continuity of operations and delivered more than 45 million dollars per year in improved product quality and productivity.
Being a digitally mature corporation, Codelco was successful in converting the threat of rising prices into an opportunity for increased efficiency and productivity not just for itself, but for the whole mining and metallurgy industry.
Takeaway: Transformation is always ongoing. It’s a path you walk, not a destination you reach.
So far, we have discussed transformation examples from the manufacturing industry. Let’s now look at a few examples from brands that are a part of our daily lives.
From Macchiatos to Machine Learning
We all know Starbucks (my favorite is their Iced Caramel Cloud Macchiato). When talking about business transformation and innovation incorporating Information Technology, Starbucks clearly takes a front-row seat. The key to their digital transformation success is in their data analytics capabilities .
The company maintains tons of data about their clients. Using machine learning technology, Starbucks studies its customers to understand their buying choices so they can personalize their products and marketing materials.
The Digital Flywheel
Starbucks has coined the term ‘digital flywheel’ for its AI-driven strategy that keeps customers coming back. Just like a flywheel stores rotational energy, Starbucks’ digital flywheel software stores a wealth of customer data including data about their spending habits and preferences.
Using machine learning technology, the app’s backend learns to make automated decisions in complex, unpredictable environments based upon external feedback to provide a more personalized experience for app users. Their IoT enabled machines to collect more than a dozen data points for every shot of espresso pulled, from the type of beans used to the coffee’s temperature and water quality, generating more than 5 megabytes of data in an eight-hour shift.
The system’s AI mines the data to suggest new personalised food and drink choices for each and every individual customer. Starbucks continues to launch new store locations as well as innovation projects such as Deep Brew and Brightloom, diversifying into more fruitful areas and creating a blue ocean in which there’s competition.
The Results
Starbucks’ digital flywheel strategy has delivered mind-blowing results. The number of Starbucks Rewards Club members has grown at 15% year on year to reach more than 18 million at the end of 2019. One of the best rewards programs in the food industry now has over 10 million members in China alone.
So now even the coffee selling brand Starbucks identifies itself as a technology organization! It heavily uses machine learning, data analytics, and smart technology to enhance the customer experience as to achieve future revenue and thus business growth.
Key Takeaway: Starbucks started the transformation by using data to create a better customer experience. You should do the same!
Empowering Real Estate Agents
The company invested in a CRM system; an AI-based virtual assistant like Siri, but for real estate; and a consumer application. The app enables real estate agents to conduct hyper-local market analyses to better advise clients, suggest the right parameters for an offer or estimate the probability of closing a deal. Behind the initiative, there were more than 36 years of rich historical data along with the best-in-class machine learning capabilities to analyze the data and produce actionable and relevant insights.
The digital transformation resulted in the continuous growth of Keller Williams with a stable 20+% year over year sales volume increase. All of this while receiving recognition as the World’s Most Innovative Company in real estate by Fast Company and one of the happiest companies to work for by Career Bliss. Key Takeaway: You cannot innovate by doing the known and familiar or by using other people’s ideas. For Keller Williams, true innovation started when they decided to move beyond the solutions they were already using and decided to design a new digital ecosystem that was built around their needs.
“Digital is the new normal,” said Nike’s CEO John Donahoe in a recent interview , just as the sports and apparel mega-brand eyed estimated sales skyrocketing by 82% in Q-1 2021. Nike understands that consumers are hooked to digital, and they are not quitting any time soon. The company’s digital business now represents more than 30% of its total business. How does Nike just do it?
Nike’s DX Strategy
Nike’s innovation strategy is driven by an ecosystem of apps, omnichannel fulfillment capabilities, and RFID inventory tracking. Some of the key elements of the digital transformation at Nike are:
- Social commerce: The numerous mobile apps and platforms create an ecosystem that integrates the social component with shopping-centric apps and covert customer engagement into sales.
- The App Ecosystem: The recently launched SNKRS app is intended for sneakerheads and offers limited-release, high-demand shoes for its most-engaged customer segment. The app joins a bunch of previously launched apps such as the Nike Training Club, Nike Running Club, and Nike Commerce. Nike uses these apps as a key source of ideas and suggestions for creating new designs for a bigger customer base.
- RFID Tracking: Nike is rolling out RFID technology to track hundreds of millions of items in its non-licensed apparel and footwear products. RFID gives Nike a complete view of its products and helps the company create a faster, more responsive, and agile supply chain.
- Analytics: Nike uses its digital ecosystem to collect data in every interaction and in its different channels, to identify customers’ preferences, and to design new products.
The Results
When conventional businesses were losing sales because of the coronavirus lockdowns, Nike grew its digital revenue by $900 million in Q-3 2020. The company is all set to exceed analysts’ estimates and hit $10.6 billion in digital sales by Q-1 2021. Key Takeaway: Digital transformation starts, ends, and restarts with your customers. The best transformation creates a cycle of customer feedback to continuously provide data and insights that can be used to create new products and launch new DX initiatives.
I hope you enjoyed reading the transformational and inspirational success stories we just shared. What are the most common factors that you can identify in all of these digital transformation examples?
For one thing, DX always involves the integration of technology into business no matter what business you are in. Successful transformation also requires leadership tenacity and courage to invest. A clear vision, strategy, and roadmap are essential to the success of any digital transformation project. Perhaps most importantly, all digital transformation must start with and revolve around the customer.
No transformation comes easy but the results of digital transformations well carried out speak for themselves. The first movers are often the best-run companies in the world. But we all can learn from these companies and examples and start creating our own transformative journey.
Do you need a partner to support you in that process? This is what we specialize in. And this is what we do every day. So be invited to reach out and ask us the “tough questions”!
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8 Successful Examples of Digital Business Transformation
- Updated November 27th, 2022
- Estimated Reading Time: 0
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced businesses to go digital in a massive way. What started as a crisis response has become the new normal, with big implications for how businesses will perceive customer experience.
Digital transformation (DT) has brought a metaphorical wave of change for the business landscape & there is no getting away from it. Hence, it is crucial to infuse virtual experiences with a human touch to create successful digital transformation examples.
Digitally mature companies are 23% more profitable than their less mature peers.
Transforming a business so that it performs better in the digital economy is not an easy task. It requires an amalgamation of innovation, leadership, technology, and vision. It is more of a technical game. Companies that have embraced digitalization, prove a considerable advantage and set great examples of digital transformation.
What is digital transformation?
Digital transformation is defined as the integration of digital technology into all different areas of a business, fundamentally revamping the way you operate and deliver value to the customers. It refers to a radical rethinking of how an organization uses technology, people, and processes to fundamentally change business performance.
The digital transformation of businesses widely differs based on the organization’s specific challenges and demands; however, there are a few constants that all businesses should consider as they start on it. The reimagining of business in the digital age is digital transformation.
As it is a wider concept several factors drive your degree of digitization. It includes the following:
- Technology – It influences businesses with significant benefits on the operations, as well as certain complexity levels of its integration.
- Demand – Customers are the ones who demand and they now expect a shopping experience that is seamless and intuitive.
- Behavior – Consumers directly impact behavior, who have expectations while shopping when it comes to your integrated technology.
Key elements of digital transformation
The word “Digital” is driven by the rapid adoption of technology and “Transformation” refers to how an organization is built to change, innovate and reinvent over the traditional methods. However, there are important elements that help businesses to create great digital transformation strategy examples.
Here are the key attributes creating good digital transformation examples
- Plan a digital business strategy – It is vital to outline an effective digital transformation strategy that defines the end goals of your business.
- Proper customer engagement – Your business should engage with customers by understanding their needs and align service to their requirements.
- Define the process – A process plays a very important role in creating successful digital transformation examples.
- Implement the right tools & technology – It is essential to adopt the right tools and technology based on your business needs to deliver an excellent customer experience.
- Make data-driven decisions – Using data and analytics provide actionable insights that help in evidence-based decision making.
How digital transformation impacts businesses?
The benefits of digital transformation include increasing conversions, enhancing customer engagement , and gaining a competitive edge. However, there are key areas where digital transformation has a significant impact are as follows:
Increased revenue
One of the key aspects of adopting digital transformation technologies is to change the sales process. Leveraging digital technology, can be more easily accessed by a wider market and reached by businesses of all sizes and from various fields.
Unified customer data
Streamlining the customer experience is an important common goal for the digital transformation business model. When all available data is collected and centralized, it becomes easier for customer support agents to solve customer requests timely and efficiently.
Optimized workflow
Digital transformation is all about efficiency and connectedness. Businesses taking the digital transformation strategy further, the areas of improvement include increased collaboration among employees of different levels and improved performance management.
Improved customer experience
Customers are the most important stakeholders of any organization. Digital transformation (DT) helps businesses provide an excellent customer experience and serve them better. DT helps to facilitate through connecting the customer data across the organization in one source.
Decreased operating costs
Companies are constantly searching to improve the efficiency of their processes. With the digital transformation business model, the operating costs are decreased by reducing time in the execution of processes, eliminating partial tasks, and incorporating new functionalities.
8 Best digital transformation examples and key takeaways.
The digital transformation when done right takes businesses to a new level of growth. If you don’t have any digital transformation ideas in place, then have a look at some of the best examples of digital technology & learn how they keep their competitiveness in the global market.
Many companies have set good examples of digital technology by embracing the latest technology to achieve their business goals. Check out how companies have approached the process with digital transformation ideas and how they achieved the desired results.
1. BFSI – Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBK) use of video chat
Digital transformation is totally changing the entire game for banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) sectors. They are greatly relying on video collaboration for businesses to build long-term face-to-face relationships.
Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBK) is a good digital transformation example.
The bank implemented REVE Chat’s face-to-face video chat solution. Their main goal was to increase user engagement through online banking operations and deliver an advanced digital banking experience.
The bank has marked an increase in online engagement and reduced the number of touchpoints to resolve the issues.
Key takeaways
- For communicating the technical concepts and complex form fill up, combining video chat and co-browsing can deliver effective solutions.
- You can develop friendly communication with customers that positively impacts customer relationships and deliver faster responses in real time.
2. Virtual Collaboration – Use co-browsing to improve CX
Using the advanced co-browsing solution enables agents to avoid the tedious back-and-forth questions that are required when the agent is trying to figure out what the customer is actually looking at. Is it the wrong link? The wrong tab? The wrong website altogether?
Here are the latest trends developing in the co-browsing domain.
- Co-browsing for mobile apps – Worldwide, 75% of all internet usage originates from a mobile device. Co-browsing technology is being adopted by new markets where mobile apps offer real time customer support.
- Visual customer assistance – When a customer needs assistance, co-browsing allows the agent to see what is visible within the customer’s browser. However, visual support goes a step further by allowing the agent to see the customer’s physical environment via their smartphone.
- Enhance interactions with AI – In case a customer reports billing issues, AI bots can interact and collect basic information & needs and then refer to the live agent. With co-browsing, the agent can view the customer’s bill within the browser and guide to the billing page.
- Cobrowsing for field services – Using the solution mitigates the training gaps of novice technicians, allowing remote experts to walk them through complex repairs.
- Cobrowse in between customers – Customer-driven community is useful for CSP subscribers who need help with technical issues. Adding co-browsing technology to these forums would boost engagement and provide a higher level of assistance to customers.
3. Food & Beverage – Domino’s chatbot implementation
Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled chatbots are helping companies to reach high levels of food safety, improve traceability, and reduce costs across the various stages of food processing. Leveraging the benefits of digital transformation, the Food and Beverage industry can grow to its maximum prospects.
Domino’s Pizza is one of the world’s leading pizza takeaway brands that has set a great digital transformation example. Its goal was to deliver hot and freshly made pizzas direct to consumers.
They adopted artificial intelligence and chatbot technology and leverage the anywhere, anytime nature of Facebook Messenger and a conversational interface. Users who already have a Domino’s Pizza account can use Facebook Messenger to reorder a previously ordered pizza or jump straight into ordering their regular choice. The users also get timely updates on how their pizza is coming along and track it, from preparation to delivery.
- Businesses can invest in conversational AI as it offers a whole new category of capabilities that business leaders need to consider when they serve their customers.
- Using a bot as a part of your customer experience strategy will increase user satisfaction by 24×7 assistance.
REVE Chat offers a powerful suite of customer support tools that can help your business deliver amazing experiences to users. Sign up to get the kind of support software that often transforms the way your service customers.
4. Retail – Nike’s eCommerce strategy
Digital transformation in the retail industry means disruption, new services, and improved functioning of the existing system using technology. Retailers will have to look beyond marginal enhancements and redefine processes to create a connected customer engagement strategy using technology.
As the customer journey is evolving, retailers have to adapt and evolve as well. Digital transformation in retail helps in streamlining processes, reducing costs, and improving productivity across the transactional cycle.
Nike is one of the best digital transformation examples.
The global brand of athletic shoes & clothing felt they were starting to be sluggish. It just did a digital transformation of the company’s mindset, supply chain, and brand and was able to better connect with its customer base.
The company focused on more powerful data analytics, updated its e-commerce strategy, and created stronger digital marketing campaigns. The effective use of digital consumer data helped Nike to open concept stores, create more membership opportunities and improve the customer experience both online & apps.
With powerful data analytics and a more direct customer focus, there was a dramatic transformation of the company. It has resulted in a quicker product development cycle, faster response, the creation of new trends, and a stock price that has grown from $52 to almost $88 in just two years.
Key takeaways
- Rely on the insights gained by analytics to make informed decisions and deliver a better customer experience.
- Don’t be reluctant to adopt digital technology for your retail business as it ramps up sales conversion.
5. Healthcare – Use of Virtual Reality (VR) for patient care
Digital technologies are transforming the landscape of the healthcare industry to ensure sustainable growth and deliver amazing patient care.
Implementing digital transformation strategy examples will create interconnected processes and systems for staff and enable them to perform the processes with greater accuracy and efficiency. The positive impact of digital transformation ideas on the industry is they offer a plethora of benefits to staff and patients.
From the clinic to medical rooms, virtual reality is exploding and expected to continue to grow in the coming years. Research by GlobeNewsWire says “the market for Virtual Reality in Healthcare will reach $7 billion by 2026.”
For example, one of the patients was getting chemotherapy every week for around 6 years to treat cancer. She used to spend 4.5 hours during the chemo session reading books, chatting, or watching TV. Virtual Reality simulated a beach-like environment where she could feel like she was sitting on the beach.
How Virtual Reality (VR) helps the healthcare sector?
- Pain reduction – Healthcare institutions can adopt VR technology for pain reduction therapies.
- VR simulations to understand problems – VR simulations help to understand how someone suffering from a deadly disease feels and experiences.
- Pacing up recovery in physical therapy – VR training exercises with machine learning to customize each exercise to the patient’s therapeutic requirements and speed up recovery in physical therapy.
6. E-commerce – Sephora’s omnichannel strategy
In this digital world, omnichannel marketing caters to the new wave of personalized experience-seeking consumers.
Gone are the days where mass messaging was king. The omnichannel engagement is no longer just a buzzword. It has surpassed the trend phase and stationed itself as a key strategy necessary to implement in the new era of digital transformation.
Sephora , a French multinational chain of personal care and beauty stores delivers a seamless omnichannel experience.
The digital transformation example of this cosmetic giant that has seamlessly linked its online and in-store offerings is its cross-platform channel initiative, Happening at Sephora, which displays all the events, launches, and activities at the physical stores onto their digital channel.
Correspondingly, their in-store experience offers digital tools that draw the customers back to the digital channel.
- Introduce the best omnichannel solutions with several innovative approaches to capture data in the stores and use it for personalization online just like Sephora.
- The beauty retailer has also partnered with Google to broadcast its video content on the Google Home Hub in-store to help users explore further with voice and visual assistance.
- Provide your shoppers a 3D live experience. When you upload an image on the Sephora Virtual Artist app, it gives a 3D experience of experimenting with their looks by virtually trying Sephora’s range of makeup products.
7. Small business – Using technology & data to transform
For small businesses cost is an intimidating factor for adopting new technology.
42% of SMBs consider digital transformation a core component of their organizational strategy.
Many SMBs have already implemented some level of digital transformation because of the benefits of using the right technologies. It helps to improve efficiency, lower costs, increase productivity, improve customer experience , and ultimately, boost profits.
Here are a few highlighted elements that really stand out.
- Digital speed – Companies can operate faster, from reviewing strategies to allocating resources. For example, they reallocate talent and capital four times more quickly than their peers.
- Ready to reinvent – Leading businesses are investing as much in upgrading the core of their business as they are in innovation, often by harnessing digital technology.
- Data-driven decisions – Data is providing the fuel to power better and faster decisions. High-performing companies are three times more likely than others to say their data and analytics initiatives have contributed.
- Follow the customers – Being “customer-centric” is well-established. Top companies that sustain a comprehensive focus on the customer can generate economic gains ranging from 20 to 50% of the cost base.
8. Automobile – AUDI’s innovative showroom
The digitization of the automotive industry has the potential to generate significant value for both industry and society. Digital transformation can create value for the automotive industry by breaking the mold of the entire automotive value chain as it creates greater efficiencies and cost savings.
AUDI has entered the digital world with its new services and become the most successful digital transformation examples.
The company introduced an innovative showroom concept under the name Audi City. It gets users acquainted with the entire catalog of the brand’s car models in micro-showrooms in city centers, where traditional showrooms with many exhibited cars could not exist.
- These spaces allow customers to discover and buy cars while wandering around the city center stores, making the experience enjoyable and accessible.
- Audi City is a place where discussion forums and exhibitions take place in the evenings, which further improves the positioning of the brand.
- In stores, advanced car configuration is possible using interactive screens on which the car is visible in full size.
- You can take a look inside the car or even observe its movement and hear the real sound of the engine using a tablet.
The AUDI city solutions increased sales by 60% compared to traditional showrooms.
9. Self-service portal – Convenience for businesses & customers
The digital age has brought so much more flexibility when it comes to finding the right medium for serving customers in different ways.
Not only is self-service foundational for serving modern customer needs, but it is also key to decreasing cost-to-serve. Additionally, times of crisis expedite the need for digital and self-service capabilities in order to quickly meet the shifting needs of customers.
VMware , the industry leader in cloud infrastructure and IT solutions empowers its customers with self-service portals.
The new MyVMware is an integrated, account-based portal that allows customers to manage product license keys and support. The users can search for information quicker, access self-service downloads and evaluations, and enter multiple sites through a single account.
The launch of the new portal has led to a decrease in the number of support calls and an increase in satisfaction scores, due to enhanced usability and efficiency.
- Businesses need to have a self-serve hierarchy in place that uses FAQs, articles, and chatbots to convey the exact content that would assist the right solutions to the customer query.
- The user profiles that leverage customers’ purchase histories, can go a long way toward personalizing self-service for your customers.
It’s the era of digital business transformation
Data analytics has made it easier to get custom insights and decision-making easier. However, to implement a digital transformation, it is crucial to understand business objectives. Based on those goals, you can streamline activities, processes, tools & technologies and create digital transformation examples.
And when it comes to tools, your first priority should always be on something that transforms the customer experience. Sign up with REVE Chat and find some of the best support software on the market and change the face of your business.
With the right tools and mindset, you can easily join businesses that have harnessed the power of digital transformation by simply updating their technology and processes and become excellent examples of digital transformation.
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Snigdha Patel
Snigdha Patel is a customer experience researcher, author, and blogger. As part of REVE Chat, she focuses on helping organizations maximize customer experience using omnichannel messaging and conversational AI.
She creates contextual, insightful, and conversational content for business audiences across a broad range of industries and categories like Customer Service, Customer Experience (CX), Chatbots, and more.
Serving as the lead content strategist, Snigdha helps the customer service teams to leverage the right technology along with AI to deliver exceptional and memorable customer experiences.
Being a customer service adherent, her goal is to show that organizations can use customer experience as a competitive advantage and win customer loyalty.
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What is digital transformation?
Digital transformation is the integration of digital technology into all areas of a business, fundamentally changing how you operate and deliver value to customers. it's also a cultural change that requires organizations to continually challenge the status quo, experiment, and get comfortable with failure..
This article aims to answer some of the common questions around digital transformation and provide clarity, specifically to CIOs and IT leaders, including lessons learned from your peers and digital transformation experts. Because technology plays a critical role in an organization's' ability to evolve with the market and continually increase value to customers, CIOs play a key role in digital transformation.
[ Want a shareable PDF of this entire article? Download it now. ]
It's also worth noting that today's organizations are in different places on the road to digital transformation. If you are feeling stuck in your digital transformation work, you are not alone. One of the hardest questions in digital transformation is how to get over the initial humps from vision to execution. It creates angst: Many CIOs and organizations think they lag far behind their peers on transformation, when that isn't the case.
In recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought new urgency to meeting digital transformation goals – and forced many organizations to speed up transformation work.
Yet IT leaders continue to grapple with challenges including budgeting , talent struggles, and culture change . Let's dig in for advice from your peers and digital transformation experts.
[ Where is your team's digital transformation work stalling? Get the eBook: What's slowing down your Digital Transformation? 8 questions to ask . ]
Because digital transformation will look different for every company, it can be hard to pinpoint a definition that applies to all. However, in general terms, we define digital transformation as the integration of digital technology into all areas of a business resulting in fundamental changes to how businesses operate and how they deliver value to customers. Beyond that, it's a cultural change that requires organizations to continually challenge the status quo, experiment often, and get comfortable with failure. This sometimes means walking away from long-standing business processes that companies were built upon in favor of relatively new practices that are still being defined.
Digital transformation should begin with a problem statement, a clear opportunity, or an aspirational goal, Jay Ferro , chief information & technology officer of Clario , recently explain e d . "The "why" of your organization's digital transformation might be around improving customer experience, reducing friction, increasing productivity, or elevating profitability, for example," Ferro notes. "Or, if it's an aspirational statement, it might revolve around becoming the absolute best to do business with, utilizing enabling digital technologies that were unavailable years ago."
Leaders, think about what digital transformation will mean – in practice - to your company and how you will articulate it. " Digital is a loaded word that means many things to many people," says Jim Swanson , CIO of Johnson & Johnson. When you discuss digital transformation, unpack what it means, advises Swanson, who led digital transformation at Bayer Crop Science (and previously served as CIO at Monsanto ) before joining Johnson & Johnson in early 2020.
At Monsanto, Swanson discussed digital transformation in terms of customer centricity. "We talk about automating operations, about people, and about new business models," he says. "Wrapped inside those topics are data analytics, technologies, and software – all of which are enablers, not drivers."
"In the center of it all is leadership and culture," Swanson says. "You could have all those things – the customer view, the products and services, data, and really cool technologies – but if leadership and culture aren't at the heart, it fails. Understanding what digital means to your company – whether you're a financial, agricultural, pharmaceutical, or retail institution – is essential."
[ Learn the non-negotiable skills, technologies, and processes CIOs are leaning on to build resilience and agility in this HBR Analytic Services report: Pillars of resilient digital transformation: How CIOs are driving organizational agility . ]
Melissa Swift, U.S. Transformation Leader at Mercer , agrees with Swanson's take that that the word "digital" has a problem because it means a lot of things to a lot of people.
"Say 'digital' to one person and they think of going paperless; another might think of data analytics and artificial intelligence; another might picture Agile teams; and yet another might think of open-plan offices," she notes.
"Digital" is a hot mess of a word. And this causes a lot of grief in organizations."
"Imagine ordering a hamburger over and over, and getting everything from a hot dog to a chicken sandwich to a Caesar salad…" she says.
Leaders need to be fully aware of this reality as they frame conversations around digital transformation. For advice from Swift on how to speak to this topic without getting burned, read our related article, Why people love to hate digital transformation .
Why does digital transformation matter?
A business may take on digital transformation for several reasons. But by far, the most likely reason is that they have to: It's a survival issue. In the wake of the pandemic, an organization's ability to adapt quickly to supply chain disruptions, time to market pressures, and rapidly changing customer expectations has become critical.
At an MIT Sloan CIO Symposium series event, IT leaders agreed that consumer behavior has quickly shifted in many ways since the start of the pandemic. Sandy Pentland, a professor at the MIT Media Lab, described how optimized automated systems in areas like supply chain management broke down when faced with rapid shifts in both demand and supply — a reality that just about everyone has faced on a personal level during the pandemic.
It's early to guess which long-term consumer behavior changes will stick. However, Rodney Zemmel, global leader, McKinsey Digital of McKinsey & Company, says that on the consumer side "digital has been accelerating in just about all categories." An important factor to watch will be the degree to which forced change — three out of four Americans tried a new shopping behavior, for example — will revert when possible, post today's emphasis on stay-in-place.
McKinsey data shows that the accelerated shift towards streaming and online fitness is likely to stay permanently, Zemmel says. But the biggest shifts were around food. Both home cooking and online grocery shopping — a category that has been generally resistant to getting moved online — will probably stay more popular with consumers than in the past. Cashless transactions are also gaining steam. On the B2B side, McKinsey data shows remote selling is working.
For CIOs, this means rapid experimentation is no longer optional.
Mark Anderson, senior director of solution architecture, Equinix , described year one of the pandemic as "a forced test of many things we had thought about but not tried." For example, he observed, "Many supply chains are not well understood and underpinned with paper. We've started looking at technologies like blockchain and IoT."
Improving customer experience has become a crucial goal – and thus a crucial part of digital transformation. Hinchcliffe calls seamless customer experience " the most important discriminating factor for how a business will perform. "
[ Will your organization continue to thrive? Download the HBR Analytic Services report: IT Leadership in the Next Normal . ]
How has the COVID-19 pandemic changed digital transformation?
"We've seen the COVID crisis rapidly re-shape both the "what" and the "how" of companies' digital transformation agendas, notes Mercer's Swift.
Take employee experience for example, she suggests. "Even as employee experience has become a key theme in the HR community, in IT circles this notion had been getting a mixed reception – sometimes stereotyped as "spoiled employees expecting best-in-class consumer-grade tech on shoestring budgets," says Swift.
"Today, with a vast portion of the workforce now remote, employee experience of digital technology has gone from "nice to have" to "the only way work gets done. Consequently, it's getting the problem-solving focus it likely long deserved."
Swift calls out some other areas of digital transformation efforts that COVID-19 pushed higher on CIO agendas:
- Furthering the reach of customer support via tools including chatbots
- Automation tools for resilience reasons
- Radical housecleaning of redundant or conflicting systems
In response to the pandemic, CIOs have also embraced the notion that "the perfect is the enemy of the good," Swift adds. "Nothing silences an individual's – or an organization's – inner perfectionist like a full-blown crisis. In response to dramatic disruption, many organizations have undergone a healthy re-negotiation of their relationship to digital technology – prioritizing "hey, it works!" over "after years of slaving over this initiative, we've assembled the very best bells and whistles." The "working software" lionized in the Agile Manifesto is getting a true moment in the sun." (For more, read Swift's full article: Digital transformation: 5 ways COVID-19 is forcing positive changes .)
What does a digital transformation framework look like?
Although digital transformation will vary widely based on organization's specific challenges and demands, there are a few constants and common themes among existing case studies and published frameworks that all business and technology leaders should consider as they embark on digital transformation.
Bryson Koehler, CTO, Equifax, says, "There is a very different mindset at work when you take IT out of an operating mode of, 'Let's run a bunch of packaged solutions that we've bought and stood up' to 'Let's build and create new capabilities that didn't exist before.' If you look at the vast majority of startups, they're not starting with giant, shrink-wrapped software packages as the base of their company. If you're trying to create innovation inside of a large enterprise then you shouldn't start with that either. You're not here to run the mainframe anymore. You're not here to run the servers. You're not here to run the data center, or the network, or operations. That is table stakes. That's what you can outsource."
Although IT will play an important role in driving digital transformation strategy, the work of implementing and adapting to the massive changes that go along with digital transformation falls to everyone. For this reason, digital transformation is a people issue.
IT leaders find themselves working in cross-functional teams more than ever. Digital transformation initiatives often reshape workgroups, job titles, and longtime business processes. When people fear their value and perhaps their jobs are at risk, IT leaders will feel the pushback. Thus leadership " soft skills " – which turn out to be rather hard – are in great demand.
Mattel EVP and CTO Sven Gerjets says leading transformation starts with empathy . "When your empathy is genuine, you begin to build trust," he says. "If you don't have an organization that is supportive and fully onboard with the transformation efforts, it's impossible to succeed. You need to have leaders that know what "good" looks like and who are motivated to help the organization understand why you're doing what you're doing."
"This will become apparent when you hear things like, 'Hey, we're working with your team and it feels different,' or, 'We can't believe that IT delivered this project early and it met my business needs.'"
[ Trying to build your EQ? Read our related article, 10 things leaders with emotional intelligence never do . ]
Mercer's Swift, who leads the firm’s efforts in the areas of workforce transformation, finds in her consulting work that three groups of employees tend to slow transformation momentum: Old-timers, by-the-book players, and lone wolves.
Companies must not ignore but engage these three groups – or face perilous stalls, she writes. How to do that? Her first suggestion: Think about your population in a segmented fashion, and work to meet different segments where they are.
"Many organizations," she writes, "have rolled out the digital journey in a highly uniform manner, with the same messages and techniques deployed throughout. "Re-skilling for everyone! New teams! Welcome to the new world!" From a change management perspective, this is pure folly – and a misuse of investment dollars that might be spent more strategically targeting smaller groups. Companies should consider both digital experience and behavioral preferences of different sub-populations within their organization, and they should craft messaging, programs, and even environments to hit the right starting point and realistic end point for different groups." [ Read the full article for more advice from Swift: 3 kinds of employees who hurt transformation momentum . ]
What drives digital transformation?
An important element of digital transformation is, of course, technology. But often, it's more about shedding outdated processes and legacy technology than it is about adopting new tech. It's also about enabling innovation.
In the area of government IT, for example, more government agencies are on the verge of realizing the cloud model's full potential - beyond cost-cutting to using cloud for strategic advantage, notes Dave Egts , chief technologist, North America Public Sector, Red Hat . "Deloitte recently released a list of nine technology trends transforming government , and one, in particular, will be key to enabling the future of technology in government: The cloud as an innovation driver," Egts says.
The prevalence of legacy technology in enterprise IT still hinders CIOs' ability to successfully embark on a digital transformation strategy. As Beth Devin , Managing Director and Head of Innovation Network & Emerging Technology, Citi Ventures has explained , legacy tech can become a costly barrier to transformation. "If you're spending 70 to 80 percent of the IT budget operating and maintaining legacy systems, there's not much left to seize new opportunities and drive the business forward. And this expenditure will grow as technology ages and becomes more susceptible," Devin notes.
What's more, new technologies are built using cloud architectures and approaches , she points out: "What is the long-term value of leveraging the best new technology for your business and customers?"
[ Leading CIOs are reimagining the nature of work while strengthening organizational resilience. Learn 4 key digital transformation leadership priorities in a report from Harvard Business Review Analytic Services. ]
A critical factor driving legacy upgrades, according to a recent Deloitte survey, is technological relevance, she says. "Legacy solutions lack flexibility and carry a significant technology debt due to dated languages, databases (and) architectures," Deloitte reported. "This liability prevents many organizations from advancing and supporting analytics, real-time transactions, and a digital experience." (Read Devin's full article: Digital transformation: 9 ROI factors when upgrading legacy systems . )
If businesses want to evolve with the rapid pace of digital change today, they must work to increase efficiency with technology wherever possible. For many, that means adopting agile principles across the business. Automation technologies also help many IT organizations gain speed and reduce technical debt .
What are the key trends in digital transformation in 2022?
As Enterprisers' Stephanie Overby has reported , digital transformation took on new urgency during the pandemic. Some CIOs and IT organizations achieved previously unimaginable speed of change. Today, CEOs see digital transformation work as key to future success. “As organizations have weathered the upheavals instigated by the pandemic, digitization has become integral to their responses and also their future plans,” Overby notes.
E.G. Nadhan, chief architect, Red Hat, notes: "Even companies who have embarked on multi-year transformational journeys have had to make adjustments midstream, as they should. The operative word that defines the purpose for digital transformation in 2022 is resilience . The pandemic taught enterprises to be prepared for seismic shifts in the market dynamics and consumer needs. Forward-thinking enterprises will focus on the ability to effectively pivot and deal with change with minimal to no impact to internal and external consumers."
"There will be increased focus on experimentation with configurable parameters to predict enterprise behavior using simulated environments. And such experimentation will yield more insight into the optimal configurations that are most resilient," Nadhan says.
Consider these eight key digital transformation trends that business and IT leaders should be aware of in 2022:
- Focus on resiliency and sustainability
- An emphasis on using cloud to enable innovation
- AI-fueled automation of business processes
- Continued acceptance of remote work
- Increased attention to managing data for its entire lifecycle
- Security as a business imperative, not an afterthought
- Prioritizing AI ethics and governance
- Increased use of maturing machine learning technologies
For more detail and advice on each of these items, read our related article, Digital transformation: 5 future and 3 fading trends for 2022 .
How can I measure ROI on digital transformation?
To prove the success of digital transformation efforts, leaders need to quantify the return on investment. That's easier said than done with projects that cross functional and business boundaries, change how a company goes to market, and often fundamentally reshape interactions with customers and employees.
A project such as revamping a mobile application may have a short-term payoff but other projects are chasing longer-term business value.
Moreover, as we have reported , "Digital transformation efforts are ongoing and evolving, which can render traditional business value calculations and financial governance approaches less effective."
Still, quantifying success is crucial to continued investment. "Just implementing the technology isn't enough – the technology needs to be specifically tied to monitoring key performance indicators on customer insights and business process effectiveness," says Brian Caplan, director with management consultancy Pace Harmon .
First, ask if you're taking enough risks.
"When determining how well digital transformation investments are performing, it's best to take a portfolio view and not a project level view," says Cecilia Edwards, partner with digital transformation consultancy and research firm Everest Group . Just as a mutual fund manager or venture capital firm would look at overall performance to determine how well things are going, digital transformation leaders must take a holistic view of digital change efforts.
This is particularly important so that the underperformance of one particular project doesn't reflect negatively on the overarching efforts of IT. It also builds tolerance for the necessary risks that must be undertaken to achieve real digital transformation.
Next, consider best practices regarding digital transformation metrics:
- Set initial metrics in advance
- Develop micro-metrics for agile experiments: The goal is to learn and adjust.
- Incorporate business outcomes: Look at strategic impact (e.g., revenue growth, lifetime customer value, time to market), operational impact (e.g., productivity improvements, scale, operational efficiencies), and cost impact.
Want more detail on ROI best practices? Read our related article: Digital transformation ROI: How to check a project's payoff .
How can I get started on digital transformation or improve my strategy?
If all of this makes you feel woefully behind, fear not. One of the biggest misconceptions CIOs have about digital transformation is that all of their competitors are much further ahead of the game than they are. That's because "there's much admiration of (and popular press around) the fastest transformers, but little critique of how hard transformation is or how long it may take for a typical Global 2,000 company," says Tim Yeaton, former CMO of Red Hat.
As businesses formulate their own digital transformation strategies, there is much to be learned from your IT leadership peers. Use this collection of digital transformation articles and case studies to explore further.
The term 'digital transformation' needs a makeover: What would you rename it?
Dow CIO: Digital transformation demands rethinking talent strategy
Building a learning culture with AI
3 ways building digital acumen can impact business success
Johnson & Johnson CIO: Transformational leadership needed now more than ever
Digital transformation: How to beat the challenges of a federated organization
9 digital transformation truths that the pandemic rewrote
Digital transformation metrics: 8 counterintuitive lessons learned
Digital transformation vs. IT modernization: What's the difference?
Digital transformation storytelling: 5 powerful tips
Digital transformation: 4 signs of a superstar
Vanguard CIO: How to help your organization think like a startup
Where can I learn more?
Digital transformation work, done successfully, will produce a business that is more aligned with customer demands and resilient in the fast-moving digital future.
For more insights on digital transformation, see these resources:
- What's slowing down your digital transformation? 8 questions to ask (Ebook)
- Teaching an elephant to dance (Ebook on digital transformation)
- The automated enterprise (Ebook on managing IT with automation)
- HBR Analytic Services report: Maintaining momentum on digital transformation
- Our entire article collection on digital transformation
Want more wisdom like this, IT leaders? Sign up for our weekly email newsletter .
Editor's note: This article was originally published in 2016 and has been updated.
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